In 2017 the SSAC team began a research project funded by an Australian Research Council (ARC) Discovery Grant on men’s performance and image-enhancing drug (PIED) injecting. We conducted qualitative interviews with 60 men who inject PIEDs in Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia. The project aimed to develop a balanced understanding of men’s…

New in our program of research is a project exploring experiences of people who continue to drink heavily while living with significant alcohol-related health problems. This South Western Sydney Local Health District-funded project will investigate how people who experience health difficulties associated with alcohol consumption give meaning to their consumption, manage health conditions and view,…

In recently conducted research, investigators have found that consumers of drug treatment and other health services in South Western Sydney experience stigma in a range of forms, and would benefit from more welcoming and supportive service. SSAC team members Professor Suzanne Fraser and Dr Adrian Farrugia are busy finalising the project report for this…

Along with participants from the US, Mexico, Canada and other parts of the world, SSAC program leader Suzanne Fraser and SSAC adjunct Kate Seear participated in May in an historic roundtable event, held in Vancouver by the Canadian Drug Policy Coalition. Entitled “Responding to Crisis: A Public Health and Human Rights Approach to the Legal…

Led by SSAC’s Renae Fomiatti and NDRI research associate Duane Duncan, the NDRI Melbourne Contemporary Social Theory (CST) group explores new resources for researching drugs. January’s reading group meeting looked at Kane Race ‘Complex events: Drug effects and emergent causality’. This piece was chosen as it offers an opportunity to expand thinking about key ideas…

Last week the SSAC team took part in the Dangerous Consumptions Colloquium, which was hosted this year by Monash University in Melbourne. Drawing on social, cultural and critical theory to discuss ‘dangerous’, ‘risky’ and contested consumptions, the annual colloquium runs over two days with a single stream of papers. This approach, along with mandated funding…

In 2017 SSAC began work on a research project exploring the health information needs of men who inject performance and image-enhancing drugs (PIEDs). Based on an Australian Research Council grant, the project aims to better understand who takes them, when, why and how, and to support effective, non-stigmatising resources for men who inject PIEDs. As…

A series of conference and seminar presentations has the SSAC team getting ready for a very busy second half of 2018. Team members will be presenting findings from past and current research programs at a range of conferences and public events. AUGUST First, Dr Adrian Farrugia will be presenting his Curtin University PhD research…

This year the international Society for Social Studies of Science annual conference will be held for the first time in Sydney, Australia. Entitled ‘4S Sydney: TRANSnational STS’, the conference will foreground science and technology studies (STS). The event is a key one for a growing number of Australian alcohol and other drug researchers whose work…

In a new initiative aimed at developing a strong collaborative relationship, South West Sydney Local Health District Drug Health Services (DHS) has commissioned SSAC to conduct four research projects. The first project is a scoping study designed to identify and pursue large-scale opportunities for research collaboration, the second will examine the various kinds of stigma experienced…

SSAC’s ARC-funded research on performance and image enhancing drug use in Australia is well underway. After a successful recruitment period in Victoria, the SSAC team is interviewing in New South Wales and Queensland, and has recently begun recruiting in Western Australia as well. Lead investigator Professor Suzanne Fraser explained that ‘steroid use among men is…

In late May, SSAC team members Dr Adrian Farrugia and Professor Suzanne Fraser hosted and convened the first NDRI masterclass for 2018. Entitled ‘Designing research for competitive grant schemes’, the masterclass focussed on the skill of grant writing for competitive grants in Australia. As the prospect of applying for grants can be daunting for PhD…

In 2017 SSAC began work on a research project exploring the health information needs of men who inject performance and image-enhancing drugs (PIEDs). As part of the project, the team will produce a web portal. Currently in development, SSAC’s PIEDs portal has two aims: to offer a dedicated publicly accessible research resource presenting project findings, other…

Consumption of performance and image-enhancing drugs (PIEDs) is increasing in Australia and elsewhere, raising questions about health knowledge and needs for those involved. The SSAC team is currently conducting research on the meanings and practices associated with the injecting of PIEDs by men in Australia, and preferred ways of accessing information and advice is…